Good morning, wonderful people. It’s an unusually brisk news morning for a Monday in the dog days of summer.

Driving the agenda: No single story captures the imagination. Corporate earnings still look strong (for the most part) heading into the last few days of 2Q earnings season. There’s a smattering of M&A news out of the state asset sale program and more on cabinet’s search for FX under the proverbial cushions. Perhaps the most personally meaningful story for many readers is the very welcome news that the pay-to-settle program for folks with unfulfilled military service obligations is now live.

^^ We have more on all of these stories below.

FROM THE RUMOR MILL-

#1- Agthia no longer eyeing Safi? ADQ-owned food company Agthia is no longer looking to acquire military-owned bottled drinks firm Safi, Al Shorouk reported Saturday, citing what it said were unnamed sources. Agthia was said in May to be among the bidders for Safi, which is on deck to sell a minority stake sale under the government’s privatization program, a source close to the transaction confirmed to Enterprise at the time. An Agthia spokesperson yesterday told us the company doesn’t comment on “rumors and speculation about Agthia’s acquisition activity in the Egyptian market,” noting that while 10% of the company’s Egyptian revenues come from exports, “our plan is to significantly grow our export business.”

What Agthia like about Egypt: The country “remains a strategically important market for us, not only considering the favorable long-term socio-demographics and structural demand for protein, coffee, and snacking products, but increasingly as a cost-efficient manufacturing hub for key regional and international export markets,” the company told us.

#2- India’s ReNew Power could break ground on its USD 8 bn greenhydrogenplant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone early next year , Al Shorouk writes, citing what it says is a government source. The plant should take some six years to complete, the source added. Technical studies are now underway for the project ahead of a final investment decision, which is expected between November and March.

REMEMBER- This has been in the works for some time: The Indian company and El Sewedy Electric signed a framework agreement with the government in November for the plant, which is expected to crank out 220k tons of hydrogen and 1.1 mn tons of green ammonia a year.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- High-speed rail: Coming 2024. The first leg of the 1,100-km high-speed rail line will begin operating at the end of 2024, Al Mal quotes Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir as saying yesterday. The first, 660-km line will provide high-speed travel between Ain Sokhna and Al Alamein before extending to Marsa Matrouh later.

Remember: A consortium of Siemens, Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors are constructing the line while Deutsche Bahn and Elsewedy Electric are on board to manage and operate it under a EUR 1 bn, 15-year contract.

#2- Everyone is mum about yesterday’s Egypt-Palestine-Jordan talks: Neither Egypt, the Palestinian Authority nor Jordan have issued statements following yesterday’s meeting in Alamein. The only reports have come from Palestinian media, which provided a vague agenda ahead of the meeting.

#3- More US lawmakers are calling for cuts to Egypt’s military aid: A number of US Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives have joined a group of senators in calling on the Biden administration to withhold a quarter of Egypt’s annual USD 1.3 bn of military aid on human rights grounds. The 11 lawmakers have sent a letter (pdf) to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The administration has until 30 September to make a decision.

Remember: The Biden administration blocked Egypt from receiving USD 130 mn of military aid in 2021, a figure that rose to USD 205 mn last year. Around USD 300 mn of total aid given to Egypt is contingent on the country making progress on rights issues.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Egyptians living abroad can now register to settle outstanding military service obligations: Egyptian men living abroad will be able to register here to begin the process of settling any outstanding military service obligations starting today through 13 September, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. Applicants will need to pay a fee of USD 5k / EUR 5k into accounts at Banque Misr.

CBE to hold EUR T-bill auction: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will hold an auction for EUR 600 mn worth of one-year T-bills today with settlement scheduled for tomorrow, according to the central bank. This is the first EUR-denominated T-bill issuance since November, when the central bank sold EUR 699.2 mn worth of one-year bills at a 2.3% yield.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

It’s a big week for Egypt’s green transition , with Enterprise Climate reporting that the world’s first-ever green methanol-powered container ship looks set to pass through the Suez Canal today. Our friends at Netherlands-based chemical producer OCI Global are fueling the ship under a partnership with Denmark’s shipping and logistics giant AP Moller-Maersk. We expect the vessel to bunker in Egypt toward the end of this week.

Bidding opens for new industrial land plots on Wednesday: Investors will be able to bid for industrial land from Wednesday, 16 August, through Wednesday, 27 September, under a new phase of the Industrial Development Authority’s (IDA) investment map, according to the authority’s website. Some 1.7 mn sqm of land across 14 governorates will be offered to industrial investors in the authority’s first land auction since December. The entire bidding process will take place on IDA’s website.

Want to manufacture something, but don’t know what? The IDA has compiled a list of 152 potential projects for industrial investment, it said ( pdf ) yesterday. The list includes projects to manufacture inputs for the engineering, chemicals, construction, food, and pharma sectors, and is the result of a study meant to identify key products the country should localize to help bridge the country’s USD 30 bn import gap.

Export subsidy payouts: The Finance Ministry will pay out a third batch of export subsidies under the sixth of the program on Wednesday and Thursday this week. The ministry has so far paid out EGP 8 bn to over 800 companies during the current phase.

The National Dialogue: It’s another week of closed-door meetings at the National Dialogue this week as the dialogue’s rapporteurs work with selected pro-government and opposition figures to finalize recommendations to be presented to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Last week’s wildfires in Hawaii are continuing to dominate the international front pages this morning: The wildfires that decimated a historic Hawaii are now the most deadly in the US in a century after the death toll rose yesterday to 93. The number of victims is expected to rise further in the coming days as rescue teams search for missing people in the town of Lahaini, which has been described as resembling a warzone. (Associated Press | Reuters | Wall Street Journal | Washington Post | New York Times | BBC)

THE ALGOS ARE COMING-

The head of the US’ market regulator just preemptively blamed AI for the next financial crisis: Head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler has warned that powerful trading algorithms driven by generative AI “will be the center of future financial crises.” (Axios | New York Times)

We can’t trust them with our meal plans, either: “Oreo vegetable stir-fry,” “bleach-infused rice surprise,” and chlorine gas (“Serve chilled and enjoy the refreshing fragrance”) were among the adventurous meal recommendations offered by an AI-powered app developed by a New Zealand supermarket chain. (The Guardian)

MARKET WATCH-

Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we looked at how the local fertilizer industry is being impacted by the government’s decision to reduce gas supplies in response to ongoing rolling blackouts.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercia l.

LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST-

MISSED OUR PREVIOUS FORUMS? The EnterprisePodcast has you covered : The Enterprise Podcast’s forum series has been bringing you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum and Enterprise Climate Forum.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami.

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- It’s the very first panel of the Enterprise Climate Forum: Egypt brought home major victories from COP27, signing framework agreements for about USD 85 bn worth of green hydrogen projects, and announcing more than USD 10 bn in funding for the Nexus for Food, Water and Energy (NWFE) program. While we have a long way to go before much of the wins from COP27 will be tangible to the private sector, the opportunities in green hydrogen and NWFE are “now.” Our panelists helped explain how these two can be made actionable. We were joined by Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, Khalid Hamza, Director and head of Egypt at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Khaled Naguib, CEO of Hydrogen Egypt.

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: The private sector could be getting involved in the government’s Nile Egyptian International Schools.

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